The following article is a part of a series that is a follow up to the talk on Intangible Cultural Heritage and Lankan Unity delivered by Frances Bulathsinghala at the Ambassadors’ Forum event on the topic: “The Geneva Crisis - The Way Forward” held in September. The articles are part of a previous series and include aspects pertaining to a national unity model the writer is involved in creating with the assistance of several other specialists from diverse areas.
This peace building model will be rooted in Sri Lanka’s intangible heritage and will have economic prosperity through the route of heritage entrepreneurship at its core while giving importance to comparative spirituality as a component of intangible heritage. In this last aspect the use of Buddhistic and pre-Buddhistic Ravana heritage for national unity could be explored.
This model will be launched with the 6th volume of the Ambassadors Forum publication and will be a follow up to the September 5 event organised by the Ambassadors’ Forum, the London Initiative and the Ontario Centre for Policy Research, based on the book published by Ambassadors’ Forum titled The Geneva Crisis: the way forward.
Intangible cultural heritage which is an ideal connector of a people of a nation encompasses traditional knowledge, beliefs and practices alongside other segments of heritage such as natural heritage which is in turn linked with many indigenous forms of beliefs and knowledge that could be extremely beneficial for the human condition.
Unfortunately Sri Lanka has been swept off her feet in the post-colonial tide and the educational sector in this country has become completely monopolised by Western based knowledge.
While asserting, as Rabindranath Tagore did, that Western knowledge has many useful criteria that non Western civilisations can benefit from, what should be remembered is that Eastern cultures and its vast repertoire of knowledge have today become trapped in an inferior complex mostly unleashed by its own people. This is manifest in multifarious ways that negatively impact these nations in diverse ways, including health and well-being.
Therefore, for weaving the tapestry of Sri Lanka’s unique diversity for economic prosperity, well being and unity for a long lasting model of ethnic harmony, it is imperative that we take seriously the task of re-inventing our education models so that we create a national unity based heritage knowledge learning into our education system. To begin with, in schools we could commence adult and children focused re-learning of our ancient knowledge especially connected to agriculture and well being.
Adult learning is important as teachers have grown up learning to ridicule most heritage knowledge systems through this current globalised education system and a serious de-colonising of their minds are needed using the few remaining experts who hold such knowledge.
Heritage
The ancient Sinhalese of this nation, the Tamils of this land and the Muslims who came for trade and chose to settle in this country have all been nurtured by our intangible cultural heritage.
This ranges from medical science to crafts, arts and ancestral scientific knowledge of how to use natural resources for national well being. Sri Lanka is a civilisation that took great pride in training young people to safeguard this knowledge and often passed on through the Gurukula system.
Sri Lanka’s national resources are diverse. It is spread across uniquely in different districts and historically has contributed to the development of crafts, arts, beliefs and traditions and vast areas of nation building knowledge. This unique diversity evolved over a rich civilisation has bonded a nation and enabled its global respect historically.
This extends to engineering, construction, architecture, water resource creation and universe centered non-poisonous compassionate farming that will not kill either animals or humans. It is the current lack of this knowledge that has beggared Sri Lanka. This ignorance has created for our country billions costing dependency ranging from health to agriculture and city construction, creating for 73 years a brand of pauper diplomacy, the impact which is lethal.
Unlike our ancient kings we have long forgotten that the security of the nation lies in safeguarding its traditional knowledge. With commitment from fellow citizens and systematic participation of those in responsible positions we could rekindle the emotional connection of such knowledge with hearts and minds of our people to create a network of knowledge interlinking through the districts, incorporating mutual respect and unity.
It is the use of such for national development that would have put Sri Lanka into a true independent sustainable, and economically and bilaterally secure, prosperous future.
We have to stop becoming copy cats of how other countries ‘develop’ and becoming slaves alien peace building models just because these come attached with funding. It is imperative that Sri Lanka also guards against hijacking of its culture and heritage by other nations to sell back to the country under various guises and instead look to our own heritage methods of ensuring prosperity and making it relevant to the present.
First we have to understand that countries which are infants with a history of just a few hundred years have adopted many forms of our knowledge that they initially taught us to scoff at. Nature based and astrology based agriculture is amongst this category.
While we spend billions of rupees we do not have, enriching the agro chemical industry based on ‘modern’ science, Western nations have taken our ancient universe connecting agricultural knowledge, re-packaged it as – bio dynamic agriculture and is selling it back to us through the industry of higher education! What is called bio dynamic agriculture is common especially to the Buddhist and Hindu culture and could be effectively used for national harmony through community farming by both the State and non State sector.
Last week the basic categories of how a national model focusing on intangible heritage could work were cited as follows;
- The historic significance of traditional medicine and related beliefs (including knowledge systems such askemkrama) and exploring the potential for using it for health and unity. This means inculcating a healthy respect for beliefs rooted in the ancient civilsation of Lanka.
- Natural heritage (indigenous cultivation methods and plant conservation across districts in mutual cooperation). In the article published a fortnight ago examples were cited of such work already carried out by indigenous health conserving entities such as Hela Suwaya which is inclusive of Allopathic physicians promoting the combination of Nadi Wedakama with the ancient system of Dharmika Govithena (non-violent agriculture) which compliments this nations’ ancient system of health which was rooted in using our indigenous medicinal food for preventing illnesses.
- Spirituality encompassing beliefs and spiritual/religious traditions which is a key component of intangible heritage, keeping in mind Sri Lanka’s Buddhist and pre-Buddhist identity inclusive of legends and beliefs in the ancient Lankan King Ravana and him being famed as a worshipper of God Shiva).
- It was cited in the previous article how a legendary figure such as Ravana often associated with diverse Sinhala nationalist groups can be effectively used to bond the Sinhalese and Tamil citizens of Lanka using the interlinked forms of Sun/Universe Worship and Shiva worship.
- The ancient Sinhalese and Tamils (as in ancient practices of many other cultures across the globe worshiped the sun. To date cultural festivals such as the harvest festival is encompassed in the traditional New Year of April celebrated in Lanka. Bangladesh is a good example of how a Muslim country celebrates this festival without confusing it with religion.
Model
In detailing out briefly the significance of promoting the above as a national peace building model we last week focused on the fact that Sri Lanka is a strategic location that has many powers wrestling for control of it, either overtly or subtly, in ways we can detect and in many multifarious ways we cannot.
It is common knowledge that the ‘war crimes allegation comes with financial implications connected to handouts such as loans and grants that are tied to vested interests and Sri Lanka could do much more than merely tell the United Nations that we are an united nation.
In doing so Sri Lanka must once and for all recognise and admit that just a handful in this nation have politicised minor differences creating artificial gigantic divides across religious and ethnic lines to the extent that led to unimaginable acts that never took place in our ancient history.
In any country there are opportunists and fanatics waiting for the use of history for creating a sense of false patriotism.
Hence a healthy understanding of history, our heritage and especially the use of intangible heritage for the common cause of propelling the country towards prosperity and harmony is needed at least now.
Often we over look the unity within Sri Lanka and the narratives in the media, especially the international media are committed to highlighting, enhancing and giving power to the negative so as to encourage its growth.
In an effort to show the actual harmony that exists and examples linked to the nation’s intangible heritage, the following case studies may suffice. These case studies in traditional life as lived in Sri Lanka shows that we need not ape any Western ultra-liberalist model and that within the Buddhist identity of the nation a harmonious and happy life for its people could be created as was the practice in the pre-colonial reality of Lanka.
Based on these an actual intangible heritage based peace building model could be built, as a national initiative.
Link
Case study one: The currently existing link between the use of natural heritage, well being, national unity and the potential for improving on this.
Ayurvedha doctor D. B. Ratnayake is the founder and head of the Deshiya Waidya Krama Surekeeme Sangamaya based in Kandy. He runs his traditional Sinhala Wedakam medicinal treatment outlet in Kundasale, an area predominantly occupied by Sinhalese but also inhabited by Tamils.
While mainly Sinhalese and also Tamils frequent his shop, he occasionally gets Lankan Muslims seeking him out for treatment. In a recent interview with him at his clinic, he pointed out that he has got several queries by Muslims who want to take treatment as to the exact definition of ‘Hela’ Wedakama and what it signifies.
There are also apparently some concerns whether there will be any aspects that will go against Islamic rigour. As a medicinal specialist well versed in Ayurvedha, Deshiya Chikitsa (Sinhala Wedakama) as well as Unani (of Islamic origin) and Siddha (of Tamil origin), he had explained that the word Hela signified the nation and what is indigenous.
“Several Muslims around this area and those who live in other districts have come to my treatment centre and wanted to find out more details on the traditional medical system of the Sinhalese and specifically inquired about the significance of the word ‘Hela’ he said.
It is here that we can begin our discourse as to the need to educate not only non-Buddhists but also Buddhists on the traditional forms of knowledge linked with the historic concept of what is ‘local’ or ‘indigenous’ and bound to the nation. In doing so we cannot miss the historic importance and current relevance of keeping alive the heritage of traditional medicine and using it for uniting the nation.
A traditional physician or wedamahattaya in common parlance in Sinhalese, is generally known for wanting to heal as a karmic duty to the ultimate Buddhistic goal of liberation which is why our physicians never used to accept money to their hand but instead where the patient discreetly places whatever cash he can afford on a betel leaf.
Here is a narrative given to this writer by the Community Medicine Specialist of the Jaffna University, the late Dr. N. Sivarajah, Former Head of Department of Community Medicine, University of Jaffna, months before he passed away three years ago.
“My father was in a job that enabled us to travel all over Sri Lanka and I grew up in many Sinhala villages. I recall vividly how in all of these villages the traditional physician played a key role in the well being of the people and how they carried out their profession without a single vestige of ethnic or religious based bias.
Often I used to be taken to the chief priest of the temple or a Buddhist Bhikkhu who was also a physician and they used to treat me with much compassion as they could muster for a sick child,” Dr. Sivarajah recalled. He was reminiscing a memory over eighty years ago and highlighted the need to link what we today have as a largely allopathic subject of community medicine with the indigenous.
Wisdom
Indigenous well being comes with the Buddhistic and Hinduism based compassion as well as wisdom and encompasses the whole of nature – with indigenous healing systems having been used not only for humans but also for animals and plants. The lack of this knowledge today is a serious vacuum in breeding a humanity focused society which is truly gentle and respecting human rights as opposed to an arrogant hypocrisy based imitation.
All forms of arts, especially music, dance and crafts as well as language are a key component of intangible heritage and can be used for connecting people in this country and certain elements of these were adequately highlighted recently in Parliament by the State Minister of National Heritage, Performing Arts and Rural Arts Promotion, Vidura Wickramanayaka.
How aspects of heritage such as arts and crafts could be used for connecting people for an authentic national unity framework will be highlighted in the ensuing series of articles.